I saw The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly on Tuesday. A lot of fun, as always. I believe this was my fourth time seeing it at the Ken, though this time there was twenty mintues of extra footage. The added footage was basically exposition, making plot points abundantly apparent, and were probably unnecessary for a film of its length. But still, it was interesting, especially a scene where Tuco recruits some old friends to help him kill The Man With No Name.

Then yesterday, Wednesday, I went to the Derby to see the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players. I had some errands to run, then around one I got on mapquest to see just where I was going. The show didn't start until 8, but I noticed that the Derby is right next to Griffith Park, so I thought I would leave early and go there before-hand, have a picnic and read until it was time to go to the show. I didn't hit the road until close to three, however, and as one might imagine, had quite a bit of traffic all the way.

Around five, it was getting so bad, that I decided to just eat along the way and wait out the traffic a bit, so I got off when I saw an In-N-Out. But I decided I should pick up some local color, so I pulled into a place called the North Woods Inn, which I had noticed on previous trips through what is apparently the town of La Mirada, but reminds me of the least-visually appealing parts of Kearney Mesa. The sign promised sandwiches and dinners, so I figured a sandwich sounded good. The building was built to resemble a large log cabin covered in snow, and inside the look was complimented by wall hangings (paintings, stained glass, taxidermy) which might be considered tacky, but actually seemed to me to be charming. I thought there was sawdust on the floor, but it turns out those were well-trampled shells from the complimentary peanuts on the table (you are encouraged to throw them on the floor). The dinners were around $25-$30, but from what I observed, were huge; everyone seemed to be sharing a dinner (the dinners come with two salads, so I imagine this is encouraged). I just ordered a sandwich, which I gather doesn't happen there often. The open-faced chicken sandwich, it turns out, isn't really a sandwich at all, just a grilled chicken breast, with cheese bread on the side. The bread was amazingly good; soggy, but in this case, that seemed to work in its favor. The salad wasn't bad; I've since learned I was supposed to mix the red cabbage slaw into the salad, instead of eating it seperately, but I enjoyed it on its own. The chicken was okay, nothing special; I assume most people come here for a steak. I ordered dessert, which apparently is unusual as well, or so my waiter told me. He was training someone, and was delighted he could show her how to make a dessert, because no one ever orders them. I guess the dinners are just too big. Interesting place; I can think of lots of reasons not to like it, but it charmed me nonetheless. If I was fond of steaks, I'd go back sometime.

I was there about an hour, and traffic was letting up. I hit more traffic as I got closer, and realized that, my earlier concern that I wouldn't be able to keep busy until the show notwithstanding, I was just barely going to make it on time. So I went straight to the Derby, around 7:40. Turns out the show didn't start at eight, that was just when they would be letting us in. So I had to stand outside for twenty minutes, as the muggy air tried to bring me down. Once they let us in, I was really taken back by the venue. The domed ceiling was impressive, as was the circular bar in the middle of the room. I saw a screen in a side room, and a stage in the main room. I assumed the opening acts would be on the stage, and the Trachtenberg Family would be projecting their slides onto the screen. So I sat at the bar and had a drink while I waited for the first act.

The Moodoo Puppets opened the show, inviting us to sit on the floor and watch the adventures of Martina, a little girl lost in the universe, trying to save a magical school bus. Watching a children's puppet show in a bar was a bit odd, but a lot of fun. The only person under 21 in the whole place was Rachel Trachtenberg, who seemed to enjoy the puppet show; her presence in the audience gave the moment some air of authenticity, as though the puppets were for her and we were just along for the ride. I can't say it was a great puppet show, but it was entertaining, and the Snailian puppet was especially amusing.

The next act, and the highlight of the evening for me, was Gwendolyn and the Good-Time Gang. She has a wonderful voice and just enough perkiness to perform delightful children's songs, without becoming grating. I suppose "effervescent" would be the word. She opened with "Farm Animal Friends," the only song of hers I'd heard before. She also performed "Freedom of the Heart (Oodily, Oodily)," which might be more well-known due to its inclusion on the Chuck and Buck soundtrack. Actually, she sang just about every song on her album, and some more: "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider," a countrified "Bare Necessities." It was not hard at all to see why children would love her, and not much harder to see why the adult crowd was, for the most part, digging her. I bought her CD after the set, and having listened to it on the way home and during my commute today, my favorites are still the songs I loved the most during her set, like "My Anatomy," and, probably my very favorite of them all, "I Don't Think I Like It."

The CD I'm sure would delight any child, and is great, but not as great as seeing her live. Gwendolyn is very good at doing different voices, and for the most part becomes a child on the album. She's good at it, but I enjoyed her live, better, when she was portraying herself as she is, an adult with a childlike appreciation for good innocent fun, rather than a child impersonator, as on the CD. But that said, I still love the CD.

When they were done, I got the CD, then ducked into the side room where the screen was. I got a seat on a wonderful, plush chair, right in front of the screen. I was brooding on my unbelievable fortune for a good five minutes or so, before I realized there were no instruments in the room. Then I looked on the screen, and saw via the televised projection from the other room, the Trachtenberg's setting up on the stage. So I went back to the other room and got as good a vantage point as I could. Sadly, despite the intimate venue, there were a lot of people for the Trachtenberg Family's set, and with the huge honking bar in the middle of the room obstructing the view, it was very difficult to get a good vantage point. And it was hot as blazes. And we were crammed in like sardines. So by the time the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players took the stage, I was hot, sweaty, and clausterphobic, and probably not in the best mindset to see the show. So please bear that in mind.

They were fine. Nothing special. "Look at Me" and "Mountain Trip to Japan, 1959" are great (the "secret" portion of their web site has a multimedia clip of "Mountain Trip," but sadly without the apparent public execution). "Middle America" is good, too, though for some reason, given the wonderful potential of the subject matter (it narrarates drivers ed training material), seems to me to fall a little short. Jason Trachtenberg is a bit odd, his ramblings between songs veers erratically between amusing and aggravating. Rachel Trachtenberg's occasional comments are charming, though for the most part you forget about the novelty of the youthful drummer. Maybe because I couldn't see the drum kit from where I was.

What I'm trying to say is, I enjoyed the songs, but still felt let down by their set. I think the imperfect conditions, plus fretting about the drive home, might have put a damper on my mood, so I won't necessarily lay the blame on the Trachtenbergs. In any event, it turns out Gwendoly and the Good-Time Gang was worth the drive alone. There was apparently another act after the Trachtenbergs, which I didn't know about, but it was about 11:30, and I had to work today, so there was no way I was staying. I made it home around 1:20, and after getting Tanner calmed down, went to bed.

Today was an okay day at work, the new ticketing system was having some problems, but overall not much happened. I took a long lunch and went and got my tickets for the White Stripes, that should be fun. Michelle is in town, Eric will be dressing up as a Stormtrooper and marching into Comic-Con. This will be the first time I've ever gone to Comic-Con. Looking forward to the Adult Swim seminar, and the Simpsons stuff. And meeting Keith Knight. I thought his band was going to be playing down here for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, but apparently not. So it goes. Haven't seen Michelle yet. She and Eric left for a planning meeting with her little Star Wars nerd friends before I got home from work.

I liked this article, which addressed a dilemma I, too, face: What to do when you really like the new Willie Nelson song? I just told myself that its references to lynching and whatnot was a reference to Western movies, divorced from the real lynchings of the South, and that the tune was more cathartic than a real call to action. Had I known his duet was with Toby Keith, I might have had more problems with it. In any event, the message troubles me, but it is a catchy song, so I suppose, if I catch it in one of the rare moments when I'm listening to the radio, I'll listen.

Murder convictions overturned in Ted Binion murder case. This really took me by surprise, though I agree with the court that Tabish's assult charges over the Leo Casey matter should never have been tried with the murder charges. I simply don't believe Casey was telling the truth. In any case, it was unfairly prejudicial towards Murphy to let the jury hear those charges. I personally thought they might be granted a new trial because the prosecution withheld information about a potential mob link to the (alleged) murder.

I'm farily certain the two are guilty, and will probably be convicted again. I could be surprised, though. They know what to expect this time around, and new developments will enable them to attack the forensic evidence much better. If the two weren't such huge morons, they'd probably walk. What did we learn from this case? Don't dig up the mudered man's silver the night you kill him, and don't film yourself stealing from the dead man and potentially destroying evidence the day after you killed him.

I found this old article confirming that the Cove will never again be a theater. I was going to go into downtown after work today to take a picture of what's left of the place, but I forgot about the construction they're doing on Ardath (or La Jolla Parkway, as they decided to rename it for some inexplicable reason), and ended up turning around; I'll check it out when I have a bit more time.

The White Stripes at RIMAC in September. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs will be there, too (the young people are all abuzz about them). Tickets go on sale Thursday; I'll be there.

Bush's latest strategy: If you're getting heat for admitting you were wrong, take it back.

Clear Channel must sell some San Diego stations. Hope they sell some that I'd like to listen to.

I decided to spend a quiet evening drinking daquries and cleaning my room. I found my lost Rushmore soundtrack in the progress. So it was a good night (and the night is still young).

The best folk in the world are carnie folk.

I finally got around to installing Photoshop Elements, and made some photo galleries to share with you all:

Cove Theatre

Tanner

Birch Aquarium

Various Outdoor Pictures

Hope you enjoy them.

A great article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal on casino's strong-arm tactics against card counters.

I had hoped to post about the Lyle Lovett concert last night, when it was fresh, but I was completely exhausted. I hadn't slept well the night before. Then traffic was awful getting to work, work was awful, and traffic was awful getting home. At work, we got a new ticket system put in, which is fine when it works, but it was having all sorts of problems. No worries, though, the other system is still installed, so we can just use that, right? Unfortunately, around the same time, that system went absolutely apeshit, printing out all sorts of bizarre tickets and receipts while the cash drawer just kept opening over and over again, while the screen displayed all sorts of gobbledygook. The computer support guy said that the director's computer started shooting sparks at the same time, so apparently some sort of evil came to visit the aquarium yesterday. In any event, I was already exhausted before I even left for the concert. But once I got down to the bay, I was pretty excited, and forgot about being tired.

Around 7:45, Lyle's band took the stage, and began playing. A few moments later, Lyle himself skulked out on stage in an ill-fitting black suit, and began to sing "Mack the Knife." As the sun was setting and the fog was rolling in, and an amber spotlight illuminated Lyle, his brooding, soulful rendition, that was almost unrecognizable to someone mostly familiar with Bobby Darrin's version, was worth the price of admission alone. I had been reluctant to buy Smile, choosing instead to get more of his older stuff, but having heard "Mack the Knife" and the other songs he played off the album, I'll be picking up Smile today. The band played a bit after that, and then Lyle sang, I believe, "Blue Skies," and I began to wonder if Lyle Lovett had turned into Harry Connick, Jr. But Lyle showed he could reinvent himself as many times in one concert as he has over his recording career. He played his country hits, like "If I had a Boat" and "She's No Lady," standards like "Straighten Up and Fly Right" (I've been in love with this song since hearing Rosemary Clooney's version...Lyle commented on it a bit before playing it, to paraphrase: "This song never made any sense to me, but I try to follow its advice. I think there were some happy people when they wrote this") and "Summer Wind," and gospel and R&B influenced works like "Church" (one of my favorites) and "Here I Am."

Lyle Lovett and his Large Band played for two hours or so, and I'm sure I can't even begin to recount what all he played. It was a great show, though. And Lyle highlighted his band and backup singers well. I can't remember the names of the musicians, sadly, but they were all supberb. A chellist who looked like a svelt Randy Newman, and in fact sang Randy's part when Lyle performed "You Got a Friend in Me," was especially impressive during second encore, when his chello solo brought down the house. All the musicians shined, but it was Lyle's backup singers that deserve the most praise. I missed some of the names, but Sweet Pea Atkinson I recognized, and I was especially impressed by Francine Reed. She brought the audience to its feet more times that Lyle. I'd appreciated her work on Joshua Judges Ruth especially, but had never really given it all that much thought before last night. Her rendition of Nina Simone's "Sugar in my Bowl" was probably her best moment of the night, but picking one is hard. The All Music Guide notes that "her amphitheater performances with Lovett must have surely had an effect on sales of both of her records," which is the understatement of the year; I don't know how you could see this concert and not love her.

The concert got out around 10:30, and I headed home, exhausted. Awesome show, well worth Humphrey's exorbitant cost ($75 to be packed in shoulder-to-shoulder like sardines). Lyle Lovett is just so cool.

Catching up...here's a link to a RealAudio clip of This American Life. Skip ahead to 22:55 to hear Sarah Vowell talk about "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Regarding the controversy between "let us die to make men free" and "let us live to make men free," she says: "In my opinion, die is the way to go. When you get rid of the word die, you erase the most moving idea in the song, that if Christ died for us, we should be willing to die for each other--why give that up? This is the one clear-cut case where you can ask yourself, 'What would Jesus do?' and you know the answer. What would Jesus do? Die."

The New York Observer reflects on the rise in stock of the word fuck. "'I don’t think fuck is the new damn,' said Mr. Karo. 'I think it’s the new the.'"

Sold my stock in Hasbro today, after it hit a 52-week high yesterday. 30% return in three months or so, can't complain about that. I bought it on the cheap, but was still nervous, I don't have much confidence in their management. I think I'm going to keep the proceeds of that sale liquid, because my emergency cash reserves were getting depleted (I've been spending a bit faster than its coming in). Looking around, there's not many bargains out there. Stanley Tools looks promising, however. A bit risky, though; its ironic that the old workhorses are becoming the big risks now. I remember taking a pounding after taking Spencer's advice and buying AT&T. Not to blame him; I took a bigger bath on IBM, all on my own. I'm strongly urging my mom to get out of IBM, but it's one of her larger stocks, and doing anything with it makes her nervous.

Still a bit ill, got out a bit, to get my mail and return some things to Radio Shack I had bought when I was trying to get the cable modem working. But mostly I've just been doing little things around the house, like reviewing my stocks. I like to think I picked up a little knowledge on the subject from my father, though I don't think I've ever heard him mention any of the stocks I own. But at the moment, all of my stocks are up, except for Adobe, which I'm about even on, and my portfolio as a whole is handily beating the S&P 500. I'll be curious to see if I can keep that up in the long haul, but it makes me feel good to know Dad would probably be happy with how I'm managing his money (and I'm sure he's glad I've paid off my high-interest debt I so dilligently hid from him).

Oh, and as long as I'm writing about finances, I might add I wrote my Senators to express my disgust about their sponsorship of legislation to prohibit the expensing of stock options. I also gave them a phone call today to urge them to push legislation to reverse the FCC ruling on media deregulation.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is presenting King Lear and Lysistrata this Summer. I've never been, but it looks like a neat place to see theater.

Food manufacturers to begin listing trans fat information on nutritional labels. Finally I can stop scanning ingredients for the word "hydrogenated."

Jeffrey Jones gets off easy. I like the guy, his tour de force performance in Ravenous especially, but really, not pleading guilty, but no contest, and then hiding behind the passive voice, "sorry this incident was allowed to occur." Well, gee, I guess its nobody's fault. I just hope Pee-Wee is vindicated, I'd hate to see him fall again.

I'm still sick. Last night I felt awful, a really bad headache on top of everything else; and I don't get headaches often, so I'm not good at coping with them. I didn't get much sleep, but by 4:30 or so I was out until my alarm went off, I think. Called in sick to work and slept until noon. Once I got up and had my coffee, I felt better, just sort of loopy, out of it. But I'm feeling pretty good now, and hopefully, if I can get a good night's sleep tonight, things can get back to normal tomorrow. I had an appointment to donate blood tomorrow, but moved it to Saturday. That was the only day I was free for some time, which is why I picked it, but I'm thinking I might have to reschedule again, since I doubt I'll be fully healthy by then. Oh, speaking of blood, I got my certificate for donating two gallons a few weeks ago. 1/5 of the way to my ten-gallon hat!

Now that I have high-speed internet access at home, I can listen to the Retro Cocktail Hour more often (I listen at work sometimes, but no one else seems to enjoy it). I found an interesting CD referenced on their page, a Lounge Tribute to Eminem. A bit pricy, but I'm mighty tempted. Amazon has more sound clips from the album.

Michael Savage canned, in much shorter order than Phil Donahue. Who would've thought, just because he's told callers to his radio show to get AIDS and die, that he would say that on national television? Shocking, shocking...

I'm sick. I feel better today than yesterday, but if I'm still sick Thursday (Lyle Lovett concert, outside), I'll be pissed.

Barry White's family already feuding over his wealth. I'd have to say the common-law wife wins by a nose, seeing as she did give birth to his child four weeks ago.

Yesterday was a fun day. I went up to L.A. for dinner and a movie. Ate at Farmer's Market. I'd never been there before. Neat place; lots of little restaurants, lots of produce. I just had pizza; I think I was a little overwhelmed by the choices. I didn't buy produce, since leaving it to sit in the car on such a hot day would've been a waste. Then went to the Silent Movie Theater for their holiday weekend screening of The General. I love that movie, not quite as much as Sherlock, Jr., but its still great. The theater itself is great; not presupposing from the outside, but a small, quaint lobby, and the theater itself is very charming. The seats are uncomfortable, but they have pillows on every seat for your comfort. And the walls are decorated with poster-sized photos of silent movie stars, including Fatty Arbuckle, Louise Brooks, Harold Lloyd, and quite a few I'd never be able to identify. The proprieter is young and energetic, bringing to the enterprise the fervent enthusiasm of a recent convert. This is only my second visit, but I certainly hope it won't be my last.

I was disappointed to see the sign when I got there that Janet Klein would not be performing as promised, due to illness. I enjoyed her the previous time I came (when the feature presentation was Harold Lloyd's Safety Last). But it was still a full evening; one of the nice things about the theater is you don't just get a movie, you get a nicely packaged entertainment experience. We didn't get Janet Klein on the ukelele, but there was live piano music during the shorts, and organ music during the feature. The shorts were actually more fun than the feature, probably because I've seen The General several times, but the shorts were new. They showed one of Max Fleischer's Out of the Inkwell cartoons, I believe it's called "Koko Steps Out," and involves a dog pulling the Earth's self-destruct lever. I've seen footage from it many times, but never seen the entire thing. I like in old cartoons (its in just about every Felix the Cat silent cartoon), when the characters interact with the thought bubble or dotted-line-of-sight or other construct, such as when the dog pulls himself up by his light-on-sight line to reach the lever. Next was a Charlie Chaplin PSA for Liberty Bonds, which was fun. It was nice to see in a crowded theater, with everyone hissing that horrible Kaiser Wilhelm. The highlight of the evening, though, was a Laurel and Hardy two-reeler, "Liberty." The plot was basically that Laurel and Hardy, fresh out of prison, are accidentally wearing each other's pants, and need to switch pants. But that eventually leads to the two of them teetering on the edge of an under-construction skyscraper in a hilarious and nerve-wracking finale. I don't know how it was filmed, exactly, but they obviously were at some height, and even though there was surely safety gear in place, it really was scary to watch. I don't mean to sound like some luddite, but it's funny that modern movies with all the special effects rarely can have that sort of visceral impact. I was also impressed that a man as heavy as Oliver Hardy could do such physically demanding comedy.

The feature presentation was The General, and it's still great fun to watch. I think its just that I've seen it many times, but the comedy is not quite as strong as Sherlock, Jr. or Seven Chances, but it's still funny, and takes a lot of risks. I'd recommend seeing it if you haven't, just as I'd recommend the Silent Movie Theater for any Southern Californians who haven't yet been.

Looking for some info on The Wiper Times, and I found (or re-discovered, actually) an interesting site on World War I and Humor. The selections from No Joke look interesting, I'll have to read it when I'm not at work and can give it my undivided attention.

I'm beginning to plan my vacation for next month. I'm going to San Jose, to see my sister (I've yet to visit her new house, or visit her dogs), and see Randy Newman at Villa Montalvo again. His last show was there was great, and well-handled, coming about two weeks after September 11th. Truth be told, had I known about his January gig (I can't make his L.A. appearance on August 22nd, because I'm seeing Paula Poundstone that night), I might have reconsidered going to the Saratoga concert, but I'm glad I'm going, both because I'm always glad to see Randy perform, and because it gave me the impetus to take an actual, non-Vegas vacation.

I'm going to Redwood National Park and the surrounding area. I still haven't made up my mind exactly between camping and staying at a hotel, but since I'm finding accomodations up there are pricy, I think I'll be camping for at least part of the trip. The Eureka Inn looks nice, and would set me back less than $100 a night, which isn't bad considering the dumps look like they'd set me back over $50. But a developed campground in the National Park is $15/night (and I think I can save even more at some of the adjacent State Parks), so I'll probably go that way, but maybe spend a night or two at the Eureka Inn while I explore the more urban side of Humbolt County.

The more I look into it the more excited I am; the park looks so beautiful. I remember driving through it on our way to destinations further North as a child, the trees were amazing, and I'm pretty sure that's one of those things, unlike the penguin encounter at Sea World, which does not merely seem big as a child, to surely disappoint you as an adult. I'm just wishing I began planning sooner. At the very least, if I'd requested a month ago all the information packets I requested this morning, I would most like have received it all in time to help me plan; as it is, I'll probably get it a week or two before I leave. But I have a nice book on the State Park system that has some good side trips into the Lost Coast and other areas to complement the National Park, and if I enjoy it, I can always return next year, since its a nice trip to add on to a trip to Michelle's.

In any event, if any of you are familiar with the area and want to suggest some accomodations, or some can't-miss sights up that way, feel free to e-mail me.

I got an odd survey in the mail yesterday from the DMV. Seems they noticed my liscence plate driving the I-5 North in San Clemente, and wanted me to fill out a survey explaining where I was going, "in order to better serve the community." I looked into the date, and it was the day I was going to LA to dine at Spago's. So I guess I'll send it in, do my civic duty (and apparently, I'm entered to win a prize), but it struck me as rather odd and vaguely disturbing, in a Big Brother sort of way. It reminded me of privacy concerns raised by the red-light cameras; I have to wonder if any spouses opened the survey and were surprised to learn their loved one was not at work after all, but rather off to a romantic dinner at Dana Point.

This heat is so draining, I don't know how I get the energy to do anything. I don't know why it seems so intense now, as opposed to other Summers, I guess its just after all the June Gloom we had, we just went straight into sweltering heat. I ran on the beach on Tuesday, and by the end I felt like I was going to die. Walking the last mile and a half or so back to my car was not fun. Today I went to a BBQ at Kelly's house, which was fun, I got to see her baby as he went in the pool for the first time; he did not enjoy it. I did have fun in the pool, I hadn't been swimming in awhile. I really need to get back into that, as a nice cross-training exercise, but now that its summer, the pool at the Kroc Center is more crowded. But I had fun, good food, and of course, my influence onto the day's proceedings, we ended up playing some cards. I won. But now I'm so tired and its only 9:15, and I can hear the fireworks, but can barely muster up the strenght to go outside.

Okay, I went outside. Pretty colors. And its cool out now. But I'm still exhausted. I intended to run tomorrow morning, make up for not running Thursday because I felt like I was going to pass out, but I have a feeling I might not make it.

Barry White, dead at 58. He died in Los Angeles, but had been living in Point Loma; he used to call in to the local R&B station from time to time. "Your the First, the Last, My Everything" is one of those songs, if I hear it on the radio, I don't care who's in the car with me, I have to crank it up. He will be missed.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so treasonous (by Ann Culter's definition) as to post about this on the 4th, but, "Bring 'em on!?" Was Bush afraid he wasn't regarded as a complete idiot?

This article regarding big business' response to fast-food lawsuits was quite interesting. The lawsuits struck me as a bit dubious, seeing as the dangers of eating deep-fried everything should be fairly obvious, but reading business groups deny a link between fast food and obesity makes one wonder if they really are as truth-challenged as the tobacco industry. And seeing as the lawsuits seem directly responsible for the removal of trans fats from several popular foods, it's hard to dismiss them.

Cox cable came out today, and $50 later, I'm on-line at a decent speed at last (and my television service is vastly improved...The Simpsons have never looked better).

I saw Frauline Else at the La Jolla Playhouse on Sunday. I intended to post a more in-depth review on Monday, but I didn't feel like it. I'll just say I enjoyed it, and the starring actress, who also translated and adapted the play, was excellent.

Today at work was no fun. The computer was down for much of the morning, so I had to hand-write tickets all morning. And the customers seemed to be particularly stupid today. Considering I had a rather fitful night of sleep, waking up feeling quite ill at one point, and having a rather disturbing dream I'd rather not go into, and so was rather worn out to begin with, it just felt like a particulary long day.

I did go for a nice run after work. Ran along the beach for awhile, which was fun; seeing as I run so much in La Jolla, I wonder why I don't run on the beach more often. Running down the road to Black's Beach killed my knees, though, and it was quite hot, so I was pretty worn out, but I got a good three-mile run in, followed by a nice two-mile walk back to my car. Makes up for cutting my long run this weekend short; I could feel a cold coming on.

Would write more...but so very, very tired...

Forgive the atrocious writing of this piece, but I was so excited to see that the Snoopy Sno-Cone maker is being enjoyed by another generation of children, I just had to share it with you all.

Katherine Hepburn dead at 96.

In keeping with the theme of the disturbing toy below, here is an article on the rather twisted toys of yore. Don't have time to read it at the moment, I have to go and actually do my job, but it looks exciting.

Monster Scenes, a fun and wholesome toy for the whole family.

Some history and observations regarding irony.

I saw Capturing the Friedmans last night. I was disappointed, I found it rather dull. I've always been interested by things like the McMartin case, and the Dale Akiki case (San Diego's equivalent, except he more-or-less got his good name back), and thought this case, with the unsympathetic accused (he is assuredly guilty of, at the very least, child pornography), would raise even more issues, by virtue of the murky moral standing of the accused. But what really interested me was the notion that one of the sons had chosen to film home movies while his family disintegrated, and now we could watch these movies ourselves, and grapple with the issues raised in seeing things we probably really have no right to see.

But the home movies are a relatively small part of the film, which is by-and-large a traditional crime documentary, hindered, in my opinion, by the guilt of the supposed victims of injustice. The father is a pedophile, and if you can believe his son's rather sleazy lawyer (who apparently doesn't get too caught up in matters like attorney-client priviledge), seems almost certainly guilty of molesting children. So how worked up can you get over police misconduct, which almost certainly led to an overstatement of the magnitude of the crimes committed, but which, I believe, is based in truth? It may shock me to hear a judge say, paraphrasing, "I knew they were guilty all along," but really, who could blame her?

The film worked better when it dealt with the family's destruction, and the notion of privacy. Hearing David say in his video diary, that it is private, and if we are not him, we shouldn't be watching it, is unsettling when you've paid your money and are settling in to peep into his private life. But we still watch. And that's the most interesting aspect of the film; unfortunately, the speculation as to the subjects' guilt, and whether we can ever know for sure either way, distracts from this aspect of the film.

I enjoyed, as ever, Stuart Klawans' review in The Nation. (I subscribe pretty much exclusively for his reviews) He observes that the film calls for commentary on two fronts: are the Friedmans guilty, and also, "what degrees of violation are involved in using child pornography; following the TV news coverage of a juicy indictment; keeping a camera trained at all times on the members of your family; paying ten bucks to sit in a theater and gape at someone else's family breakdown. To its credit, Capturing the Friedmans urges the latter question on its audience." I also agreed with him that the film has an agenda, despite the insistant claims to the contrary. He writes, "I believe the filmmakers have every right to take sides this way. In fact, I admire the subtle persuasiveness with which they've done so. But I'm also intrigued that so many people deny it's being done." I would speculate that most viewers view the presence of vast amounts of incriminating evidence as counterbalancing an obvious empathy for the family; the strong suspicion of guilt, which the filmmakers cannot (and do not try) to eliminate, conveys a sense of even-handedness in a sympathetic portrayal of the family.

Where I disagree with Klawans would be in his observation that the film's title could have a third meaning, beyond the arrest of the Friedman's and their capture on celluloid: "Capturing the Friedmans quietly convinces us that we, as viewers, may now own the truth--which makes us superior to the cops, the lawyers, the judge and the TV reporters....So the title has a third meaning, as the boast of a satisfied audience." To the contrary, I left the theater feeling a touch of despair, having been reminded how often the truth is unknowable. My contention, as I have said, is that some form of molestation took place (Naked leapfrog? Probably not. But just because the police fumbled the investigation--and probably traumatized some children for life--doesn't mean nothing happened). But I'll never know, and unfortunately no amount of access to home movies and audio cassettes and other things I don't really have a right to access will change that.

I read the curious incident of the dog in the night-time last night; following that link will take you to my comments on the novel.

Strom Thurmund, dead at 100, just days after Lestor Maddox died at the age of 87. As Randy Newman observed of Maddox, "It just goes to prove, only the good die young." (Newman and his song "Rednecks" were actually mentioned in at least one Maddox obituary, that made me smile)

Chad, recently laid off as a teacher in Lemon Grove, has accepted a position to teach in South Korea, for the Department of Defense. I can't quite imagine it, he doesn't strike me as the type able to cope well with foreign environments, but it should be an exciting opportunity for him, force him to go beyond his comfort zone. I just know that Chad has at one point deeply offended just about everyone he's ever met, so I don't know how he will fare in a society which puts an emphasis on decorum and honor. Not to mention the nearby demilitarized zone and all. But it pays well, and will give him experiences he never would have had otherwise.

I got The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in the mail today. I've read the first fifty pages or so, it's enjoyable. I'll write more about it once I've finished it.

I got the set-up kit from Cox for the high-speed internet connection, and spent the last four hours or so trying to hook it up, to no avail. I got a signal booster from Radio Shack, and while it improved the television reception, did nothing for the modem. The cable company will be sending out a repairman on Wednesday to check out the problem. So now my mom is even more sure that I'm going to mess up the cable and she'll have no TV. But I think they can get it working pretty easily. It just might cost a bit, since the cable company didn't install the various outlets, and thus won't cover the repairs. Oh, well.

Amy Sedaris was on Conan last night, very funny. Then today, the Strangers with Candy DVD finally arrived. Pretty sweet. Unfortunately, the "I've Got G.A.S." episode, a pivitol moment in television history, in my opinion, is not part of season one. So I'll just have to pray seasons two and three some day come out. But what is included is pure gold.

Further update for those following the saga of the morning mail: Still no book from Barnes and Noble. Also, my copy of Neal Pollack's Beneath the Axis of Evil still hasn't come. Filed a compaint with Paypal, which finally got me a response from the company, which assures me it is on its way. As for the Barnes and Noble package, it shipped out of Pennsylvania a long time ago, but still hasn't made it here. Thank God for package tracking; now I know it left Pennsylvania and then dropped off the face of the planet. Amazon definately seems to have them beat as far as shipping speed. Though, in full fairness, in addition to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, I ordered a ton of books from their clearance rack, so maybe its the weight of the package that is to blame for the slow shipping. Still, I'm getting antsy waiting.

So the Supreme Court has decided libaries have to install filtering software to receive federal funds. And thank God for that; as the Electronic Frontier Foundation observes, filters help protect students from such vile sites as this one: First, it teaches our children to use a question mark, no doubt to ask many an embarassing sexual question. And once our youth have learned about these pleasures of the flesh, this sight will teach them to use explanation marks in expressing these pleasures. What sort of sick bastards want our children to access this filth? I won't even go into the Xena references...

The thing that surprised me about the Foundations' report was, how many pornographic websites were able to get past the filtering software, while legitimate sites were blocked. I mean, if a web site contains words like cunt, fuck, and pussy, how can it get past filtering software, while sites like the one I link to above are blocked? I just don't get it.

I should add, I agree with the Supreme Court decision. I think the law was pathetically ill-advised, but, since an adult library patron can request the filters be overrided if they need to access an improperly-blocked site, I don't see it as a First-Amendment issue.

I voted in MoveOn.org's presidential primary today. I voted for Howard Dean. I figure he's the most electable candidate I can still be fairly proud to vote for. I liked that, in addition to taking my vote, MoveOn asked me to select which candidates I would support, should they get the Democratic nomination. I selected all the declared candidates, except Joe Lieberman and Al Sharpton.

I hope this post has been insightful. I'm pretty drunk. Was feeling depressed today, can't quite say why. So I had a few apple martinis while listening to some of my favorite Randy Newman CDs. Fun times. Always nice to take the time to review the albums, and re-affirm that Sail Away is the greatest album ever.

I signed Mom up for cable internet service today. Should get it hooked up Wednesday. I went out today and bought her a cable modem, and also got a signal booster for the cable, since I think one will be needed. Mom keeps worrying that its going to mess up the cable somehow. She's also afraid she will lose her e-Bay feedback rating, and no matter how many times I explain it to her, I think she believes in her heart of hearts that her reputation in e-Bay will be tarnished by her change in e-mail address. I'll be glad to be surfing the web at a reasonable speed, and not having to deal with busy signals and dropped connections. I am concerned about how well it will work, since the cable is spliced four ways, and the tv signal in the back room, where the computer is, is not particulary strong. But hopefully, with the signal booster, it'll work fine.

For those demanding closure regarding my trip to the post office, my book did not arrive today.

Just accidentally hit the back button, mis-read a warning message Blogger considerately put up, and lost my post. Not that it was too fascinating, but I'm sure you're all eagerly awaiting my comments on the Vanity Fair teen issue.

Today was a boring day at work. Did get some reading done. The Vanity Fair teen issue made me feel old. All those 1986 birthdays, attached to people who could buy and sell me many times over. It was interesting to read, with some sketchy moments; when they refered to Amanda Bynes' "ripening," I was a bit disturbed.

Amber was working; I hadn't worked with her in awhile. I meant to ask her what her plans were, now that she's a college graduate, but I didn't get a chance to talk to her much. We chatted in the morning, but we mostly just discussed Weird Al; turns out she and Paula were also in the audience.

I agreed to work tomorrow, 11-3. I should've just said I'd work all day, get a bit more money. But I wanted to make it to the post office, see if a package I'm waiting for is in. I'm rather eager to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

The Onion's What do you think: Media consolodation.

I saw [sic] at the Sledgehammer Theatre tonight. It had its moments; a struggling composer detailing the thought process involved in creating the perfect music to accompany an amusement park ride is brilliant. But I couldn't really get into it. The acting was pretty weak, the set design and staging was too clever by a third, and the writing was guilty of the same unjustified self-confidence that plagues the characters. The constant opening and closing of doors to the three twenty-somthings' apartments, and the shuffling about from room to room, like something out of Scooby-Doo, no doubt seemed clever and high-spirited in rehersal, but I found it almost unbearably cloying. And lest we look down on the young people with their petty problems, we get to see, from an ankles-eyed view, the break-up of a more mature relationship as well. And apparently there's a dead old woman, who figures in somehow. Again, it had its moments, and however hollow the characters may come off, you have to have some sympathy for a man who will tie his future to a new career in auction barkering, in the age of E-bay. But overall, I'd recommend you pass on this one.

I see my grades were posted on-line today. B- in Econ, C+ in African-American Lit. I was satisfied, all things considered. It is disappointing, especially the C+, since I think I had a pretty solid A- going into the final paper; so apparently I received a 0 on the final paper, which is fair, the syllabus said no late work would be accepted. As for Econ, if I had just studied a tad more for the final, I could've at least made it a solid B. But a 2.5 GPA isn't shameful, and this is the first quarter I actually completed an upper-division course, so I think I'm beginning to get back into the swing of things. Now, if only I can actually complete a full course load in the fall, I can begin to actually think about graduating sometime.

Went for a nice 5 mile run this morning. I originally planned to run in San Clemente Canyon, but as I headed in that direction, I encountered rain, so I turned around and went to Mission Trails Regional Park, where it was dry. My feet are a bit sore, though, think I need to get new running shoes.

Crap...I wrote a nice, long post regarding last night's Weird Al concert, and when I went to submit it, it apparently got lost...I was hoping it would resurface in the morning, which has happened before, but no dice. I will try to recreate it as best I can, but it will probably be a bit briefer.

To summarize the rest of the fair, not as horrifically boring as I remembered, but not a lot of fun, either. Did some shopping, saw a hypnotist show. The hypnotist was actually more entertaining that I thought. Early in the show, a big fat guy who volunteered was sitting on a folding chair, when the hypnotist pushed down on him, the chair collapsed. This unplanned moment of hilarious humiliation delighted the crowd, there to see planned moments of hilarious humiliation. We then ate, good food, terrible service, it took us an hour and a half to eat, we barely made it in time for the concert (which ended up starting twenty minutes late).

I wasn't quite sure how the show would be; I was a big fan of Al as a youngster, and I still enjoy him, but wasn't quite sure what a Weird Al show would be like. I had heard he was an energetic performer, and put on quite a show. And I was not disappointed; it was a great concert. Lots of costume changes for the various songs (including full fat suit for "Fat"), which just emphasized his talent in being able to switch gears so effortlessly, into so many different musical genres. The crowd was an interesting lot, lots of kids, lots of parents, and lots of the Nerd-and-proud-of-it types. I was sitting next to two girls, about twelve or thirteen, with their home-made signs (which deposited quite a bit of glitter on me when they were shaking them for Al) and lots of enthusiasm. The girl immediately next to me, her excitement apparently was only surpassed by her BO; the stench was actually quite a distraction at times...but then I guess the odors are part of the excitement of a fair, no?

The show opened with a video montage, which was amusing. I liked that, alongside such things as The Brady Bunch and Looney Tunes clips, Al included stuff from more eclectic sources, like Freaks and Un Chien Aundelau (he cut to something else before the razor met the eyeball). After a few minutes of this, Al emerged.

I did not take notes or anything (it wasn't a Randy concert, after all), so I have just recreated the set list to the best of my ability...I know I've left out several songs, and I can't guarantee the order is right, but I think it will give you a good idea of basically what he performed:

--"Couch Potato," Al's Eminem parody, which really is impressive in its performance. The song is amusing, but really its Al's rapping skills, and ability to adopt a persona so antithetical to his own performing style, that impressed me.

--"Angry White Boy Polka" took on a whole new level seeing it performed, with Al's smiling face and emotive eyes intensifying the dichotomy between lyrics and music.

--"Party at the Leper Colony" Um, Al, they actually perfer "Hanson's Disease." I don't really care for this song too much.

--"Trash Day" Good performance, but an unremarkable song.

--"Dog Eat Dog" I had the Polka Party album as a kid, but haven't listened to it in well over a decade, and did not remember this song. Al had gone off-stage to change, some video clip was shown, and I suddenly perked up when the band began to play "Life During Wartime," one of my favorite songs ever. I was unaware Al had ever parodied the Talking Heads. But then Al came out, in David Byrne's trademark oversized suit from Stop Making Sense, probably my personal high point for the concert. The song was more of a stylistic parody, borrowing from several songs, including "Life During Wartime" and "Once in a Lifetime." The song was great, and also featured Al's most impressive dancing that I've ever seen. I know I have often put on the Stop Making Sense DVD and tried to emulate Byrne--It's hard! So kudos to Al...now I have to either find my Polka Party cassette, or buy it on CD.

--"Your Horoscope for Today" This is a fun song. A lot of his fans were singing along. The "kill them" moment was classic.

--"All About the Pentiums" Another enjoyable twist for Al. But does computer programming and "bling-bling" still go together?

--"Wanna B Ur Lovr" I didn't really care for this song too much on the CD, but live, it was funny enough.

--"Melonie" An oldie but a goodie.

--"One More Minute" I like this song. Unfortunately, I was listening to it from the bathroom, so I missed most of Al's wandering through the audience on this one.

--I believe it was now that Al went into medley mode. This including bits from "Beverly Hillbillies," "Jurassic Park," "E-bay," "Rye and the Kaiser," "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi," "Gump," "Ode to a Superhero," and other songs I'm forgetting now. I was glad "E-bay" was just in the medley, its not my favorite (and it doesn't help that E-bay's own advertizing has such great parodies). "Rye and the Kaiser" is one of my favorites, one of those rare breed of Weird Al songs that are both funny and also seem to powerfully evoke the same emotions as the original song ("King of Suede" is another).

--"Eat It" Of course.

--"Smells Like Nirvana"

--There were more songs, I believe, but my addled brain will have to skip to "Fat," his closing song. Fun song, great performance, love the fat suit.

--Encore: Star Wars-themed. "The Saga Begins" and "Yoda." Nice way to end the evening.

I hope that was accurate, I make no guarantees. But I did have a lot of fun, and am glad I went. Unfortunately, the concert wasn't over until ten, so when I went back to buy the Amazing Pasta Pro and other must-have items I intended to pick up after the concert, they were closed. But I did bring home some roasted soybeans (yummy), the memories of eating a deep-fried Snickers bar (not very pleasant), and great memories of Al.

What have I been up to since finals? Not much. Ran in a 5K for the San Diego Blood Bank. My official time was 22:13, though I thought the clock said 22:10. Either one is good, considering the disorganized starting line and the crowd getting out of Embarcadero Park. It was a fun race, though, and they provided a lot of good food before and after the race. Other than that, I've just been taking a laid-back approach to beginning summer. I just try to get at least one thing done that needs to get done. Today I got an oil change and my tires rotated. I used to take my car to Valvoline, until they charged me for work they didn't do, which pissed me off, naturally. Then I was going to Jiffy Lube, which did good work, and just as important, didn't try to sell me things I didn't need. I recommended it to quite a few people. But then that changed, and the last two times I went there, they were trying to get me to pay out hundreds of dollars in unnecessary work (which I wouldn't get even if it was necessary, since I was already shopping for a new car). Then they really screwed my mother the last time she went in. I decided I'd rather not do business with people who rip off widows, so for my new car, I've been taking it to the Toyota dealership. They try to sell you a bit more than you need, but they're low-key about it: they advertise various services in their advertizing and signage (I'm sorry, but I'm not getting new spark plugs every 15,000 miles), but if you just ask for an oil change, you just get an oil change. I got an oil change and tire rotation for $50. It took a half-hour (half the time they had promised), and they gave me two Padres tickets for coming in. My last oil change was free, for buying the car from them, and every fifth oil change is free. I believe they want $26 just for an oil change, so when you consider the perks, its actually cheaper than the Jiffy Lube and Valvoline scum.

Well, its been awhile since I've posted any more than a quick link here, but with finals ending and all, I was busy, and then needed time to recover. Finals went poorly. I was not really prepared for my econ final, no one to blame but myself, and maybe the fact that econ is boring. For the most part. Anyway, my literature paper was more of a disappointment. I did a fair amount of research for it, and started writing it early the night before it was due, which isn't too bad, since I was prepared. But Microsoft Word was not loading; it had gotten corrupted, apparently. No worries, I'll write my paper using WordPad. Which was educational. Turns out, WordPad really is bare-bones; apparently, we're not all suckers for paying money for Word after all. I couldn't even add page numbers. More distressing, I couldn't create endnotes. So I simply marked where the endnotes belonged, and decided to worry about it in the morning. The paper wasn't due until one, after all.

Skip to that morning. I had contacted Cecily that evening, and she agreed to allow me to use her computer. She would be in class, but I had a key and could let myself in. But first, I have to go to the library, because I forgot to write down the author of a magazine article I had cited, and the database that had directed me to that article could only be accessed by computers on campus. So I went to CLICS, a more convenient library, as far as parking is concerned, than the HSS library where the article is located on microfiche. So I pull up the database, and it turns out it also does not know the author of the piece. So I have to hike over to the main library and again find the original article to get the author. And then rush back to my car to get over to Cecily's to fix my paper before the deadline. So I get to Cecily's, make the changes, which took longer than I anticipated, and printed the paper. With one page to go, the printer runs out of paper. I don't know where Cecily keeps her paper, and don't want to rummage through all her possessions, she might frown on that. But I look all over, and am about to give up and print the last page on some sort of scratch paper, when I find the paper right under the computer, where I'm certain I'd looked before. So I get the paper assembled and am off to hand it in. It's finals week, parking shouldn't be too bad, I'm sure I'll at least find a metered spot. Like virtually every day, the metered spots had been roped off for some VIPs, and there is no parking. I finally find a twenty-minute loading spot, which should be plenty of time, but when I get to my professor's office, no professor. I still have about fourty minutes to hand in my paper, so she should be there. I decide to move my car into a legal spot, and then investigate. I see a metered spot, but I turn onto the wrong street, and by the time I get turned around, its gone. As are any spots at all. I go back to the loading zone I was in, but its full, too. I'm getting pissed off, and eventually decide just to park in the one open faculty space I can find. I go back to her office, still no professor. Finally, I decide just to get a time/date stamp from the front office and put it in her mailbox. On the way home, I'm getting annoyed at the professor, until I get home and consult the syllabus, and discover the paper had been due the day before. So I write a very contrite e-mail to my professor, but get no response. The paper is only 20% of our grade, and I think I had an A going in, so it shouldn't be a major deal, but if she elects to not accept the late assignment, and enforce the "all work must be completed to receive a passing grade" proviso of the syllabus, I'm toast. Which sucks, because I thought this quarter was going swimmingly.

Well, that was long and dull and of no interest to anyone, I appologize. I just felt like getting that out, so I can move on to whatever post-school issues might bear discussion. I'm going to the Fair tomorrow, to see Weird Al Yankovich. Should be fun, I think. I loved Weird Al as a child, even before listening to the music he was mocking. Until I was old enough that the image of Paula Abdul's gyrations in "Cold-Hearted," themselves a Yankovichian parody of All That Jazz, could bring me over to the sexy world of pop music, Al's wide-ranging humor, on topics as diverse as TV and food, were very satisfying. And I hear he puts on quite a show.

I had thought it odd that the granola bars I so enjoy had a Nature Conservancy logo on them, reading this Washington Post expose on the charity helps explain matters. Taking money from oil and logging interests is bad enough, but for Christ's sake, once you've built up $3 billion in assets, maybe its time you stop begging the little people for money. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of Morris Dee's Southern Poverty Law Center, which was exposed in the newsletter CounterPunch. Enough money in its trust fund to basically be solvent forever, yet their fundraising letters brag about an old woman forgoing a winter coat to give to them. Sickening.

The kid that had a report on space revisited.

Seal attacked by shark off La Jolla coast. Yet more proof that the politicians and spoiled rich WASPs who want to re-open the Children's Pool to children are absolute morons..."Hey, let's have our children swim with shark's natural prey, that's a great idea..."

You can be anything you want, says fictional character.

I've been tired, so I have not yet posted about my attendance at the scoring session on Tuesday. My appologies. It was amazing. Unlike last time, where I was seated in front of the control panels where the director and sound technicians were working, this time I was behind them, so while watching Randy work, I could also see the director of Seabiscuit and the rest of the crew, and better understand how the process of scoring works on a macro level. The score sounds great, like a Natural for the people, you might say. One song he was writing, referred to as "The Crash," corresponds to a scene involving the Great Depression. I complemented him on it when he came over to greet us before lunch, and he said, "Yes, the depression was sad, I think I managed to convey that." Speaking to him at the end of the day, he was less sanguine about how the scoring process was going, and looked exhausted. But if things were going badly for Randy, he never took it out on the orchestra; he was always professional in dealing with them, and often joked with them about music and composers; some jokes about John Williams I didn't really get seemed to crack up both the musicians and the technicians in the booth ("That is so true," I would hear them remark). Near the end of the day, Randy even took to the piano, playing a bit of Heart and Soul to the delight of all, and (I forget if it was before or after that) sung out a bit of "The Old Rugged Cross."

This was the second time I attended a scoring session with Randy Newman (I previously attended a session for Monsters, Inc.). What did I learn this time? Really, the same things I learned last time. Two things in particular stick out. One, Randy Newman is an amazingly kind and generous person, and a brilliant composer. And two, Hollywood studio musicians are incredibly talented. Playing music they have never seen or heard before, and which is being re-written as they perform it, and being forced to constantly adapt to the requests of the composer and film director. And they are almost flawless, I don't think there was more than one or two missed notes the entire day. Oh, and a third thing I took away, which I can't believe I almost didn't mention because it is really the most impressive thing when you are actually there, in person, on the set: Scoring a film involves a lot of money. It's amazing how much time and effort goes into the process. I don't think they finished more than ten minutes of film the day I was there. And there was talk about redoing some of that music later in the week (the director wanted to add a fiddle, or as he called it, a "bluegrass violin").

Thank you, Randy, for such an amazing experience. I'm looking forward to seeing him in Saratoga in August (he'll be in Cerritos in August as well). UCLA Live is putting together a two-day tribute to Randy Newman in January (a Newman concert one night, followed by an all-star tribute to Randy the next). You better believe I'll be there both nights. (They're also going to have Firesign Theatre, Michael Moore, and a Kronos Quartet tribute to Edward Gorey, so I might have to look into season tickets or something...can't wait until they announce the details).

School's done, except for finals. I thought I got a decent night's sleep, so I don't know why I'm so very, very tired.

I'm on for the Seabiscuit scoring, spending tomorrow watching Randy Newman at work! Very exciting, and a bit unnerving, both that Randy would be so, so generous to his fans, and that he actually said he wanted our smiling faces there. I'll try to post about my experience as soon as possible, but I might be limited in what I am free to reveal (I'm already holding back a bit), so I may not be able to speak very frankly about it. I'm so excited!

Today was my group presentation on Ernest Hogan for my African-American Humor class. I arrive in class, and the professor arrives and writes the list of presenters on the board. We are dead last, fifth of the ten-minute presentations to give in the fifty-minute class, and all the groups thus far had been going over their alloted time by a wide margin. So I figure I'll have to wait until Wednesday, which really blows, since I would like this over, not hanging over my head during the excitement of tomorrow. So three groups go, and their is only about six minutes left in class. So the professor says something to the effect that, since the Redd Fox group had audio-visual tools to use, they couldn't go in six minutes, so Ernest Hogan would go instead. So having wiped all thought of giving my presentation from my mind, I had to quickly regroup and begin my presentation. No sooner than I had finished my first portion of it (about five minutes) and passed off to my partner, than the professor pulls the plug, telling us to give her our notes and she'll evaluate us from those. So, its over with, and I assume we'll probably be graded more leniently given the circumstances, but it was a stressful hour. Glad to have it done, though. Now, I just have to crank out a research paper on Eddie Anderson and Robert Guillaume, and take an econ final, and this quarter is done and the summer is mine! Apparently, work is fine with me continuing to work just three days a week, so I'll have plenty of free time to do all the things I want to do (though I'm pretty certain they'll bump me up to four days pretty soon, which is okay, more money for me).

Neal Pollack on today's FCC ruling.

Terrifying Bill Passed During NBA Finals.

Bassist Unaware Rock Band Christian.

I was reading another article on the FCC's deregulation drive (the big vote is tomorrow, apparently), and it was the same old stuff, which again made me wonder: Does the FCC really have that much of a choice? I hate the idea, and I hate the anti-democratic way the FCC is going about what will have a horrendous impact on our media in this country, but haven't the courts forced them to this? Court rulings have repeatedly said, if the FCC cannot justify these rules about ownership, they have to go. I completely disagree that these rules are not justifiable, but if the FCC has lost in court and is to some degree being forced to approve these changes, shouldn't we be a little easier on them? Again, I think these rule changes are disasterous, but I haven't read an article critical of them that has really dealt with these court rulings.

Bush silenting dissent from Head Start (subscription required, or I think you can sit through some ads and get it for free). Ironic that Bush would preach about state's rights and yet try to cut parents and the local community out of the loop in determining how to educate children at their most pliable. But what would you expect from the conservative Republican who has turned homeland security into an enormous new unfunded mandate (don't hear that phrase too much now that the Republicans are calling the shots), when states are dead broke.

Halliburton settles regarding accounting fraud while Cheney was in charge. You would think, if Bush was serious about corporate accountability, he wouldn't be awarding contracts to a company that cooked the books, would you? To be fair to the Republicans, I should also ask where Barbara Boxer gets off telling the Financial Accounting Standards Board how to do its job. I can assure you she lost one vote.

I set a PR today, running in the Rock the Bay 5K (a tagalong to tomorrow's Suzuki Rock & Roll Marathon. My time of 21:35 shed seven seconds off my previous 5K record, this spring's Torrey Pines 5K, which was a much more difficult course, I thought. But my time today was hindered by the narrow bike lane we were running on, and a crowded start. I still am hoping to break 20:00, but after my disasterous performance in Carlsbad last month, am very happy with my time. I also just got a copy of Marathoning for Mortals in the mail. I haven't decided exactly what my plans are, but I hope to, at the latest, run the Rock & Roll Marathon next year (I'd like to run a marathon around November/December of this year, but I'm not sure if there's any scheduled around here).

I just received word that Randy Newman has extended an invitation to me and some other members of his "inner circle" to attend a scoring session for the film Seabiscuit this week. I had the unbelievable good fortune to see Randy at work scoring Monsters, Inc. and am very excited that, despite some difficulty making the arrangements that time, he has again extended an invitation to some of his fans. And its a film I'd be excited to see even if Randy was not associated with it, so that's just the icing on the cake. I'll find out tomorrow that I can get the day off work, and hopefully I'll be Hollywood-bound (and then the next night I'm Beverly Hills-bound, as I am wined and dined by my Vegas benefactors...quite a week).

I was discussing my screenplay idea with a girl at work this week. I'd rather not post it here, since it's just that good, and you WILL steal it, because it will revolutionize entertainment as we know it. I know what you're thinking, its a sitcom about a back-sassing robot, but you are wrong...though that would be sweet. I've actually been joking about this screenplay for a long time, and it just this week occured to me, I really should write it. It's absurd enough that I should really be able to let myself loose and have a lot of fun with it. So I've decided, this Summer, I'm writing my screenplay. Mostly as an writing exercise for myself--when I write, I seem to manage to strip the joy and humor out of about any topic--though if Roger Corman should someday choose to direct it, that would be fine, too.

I'm watching the World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel. I don't believe I've posted about it before, but I have enjoyed watching it so far. Last week's in Paris was probably a highlight. This week, at the Commerce Casino, could've been exciting, but Bob Stupek is about to be sent packing, I think. Pair of 5s against a pair of jacks. And yes, he caught an inside straight draw, but didn't make it.

Some might say that the World Poker Tour is an overly-produced, ultra-slick commercialization of ESPN's poker coverage. And they would be right. But at least unlike ESPN's World Series of Poker coverage, it doesn't bore me to death. Though from what I've heard about this year's World Series, it should be fun to watch.

I see the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players will be in L.A. in July. I'm going to try to make it to the show at the Derby, seems a fitting place to see them.

I used to think it was cute when Tanner would wrinkle his brow and cock his head, giving me his "what the hell are you doing?" look. Now I'm beginning to think its a sad thing, that even my dog doesn't understand me.

Tanner is enjoying the aviary adventures in his back yard, though. It seems like our back yard is a beacon to sick or injured birds. Today it was a crow with a bad leg. Fortunately I had stopped to watch Tanner stalk it, or Tanner would have probably caught it, but I stopped him. Eventually, the crow got airborne fairly well (I don't understand why a bum leg would interfere with flight), and flew away, though he didn't gain enough altitute to clear my neighbor's satellite dish. We've found two dead birds in the last two months, and we also rescued a little brown bird, literally in Tanner's maw, and let him recuperate before placing him in a pet-less neighbor's yard. Tanner enjoyed that bird's company, he didn't try to hurt it, just enjoyed hauling him around.

Got my econ midterm back. 75 (out of 100), which is a B+ (which speaks volumes for how the class as a whole scored). The professor seemed displeased. I actually got virtually 100% on the short answer section, which shocked the hell out of me. If I had the proper CD-ROM and had studied the practice multiple-choice questions, I probably would now be coasting to an easy A.

I have just about finished reading the first issue of The Believer. Haven't had a whole lot of time to read it, so of course now, with a presentation to give on Monday and finals right after that, I figured now was a good time to get caught up on my non-academic reading. (I almost spent the day re-reading Double Down: Reflections on Gambling and Loss, but decided better of it--better to wait until school was out and I could take my time revisiting it in the light of recent events). It is an interesting publication, nothing too gripping in the first issue so far, but I did just read a conversation between Terry Gilliam and Salman Rushdie, and enjoyed it immensely. Gilliam speaks a bit about the fight over Brazil, and in talking about his aborted version of Don Quixote has some interesting points about the novel. And in another article I learned that Daniel Handler is still working on the Lemony Sickett books, I had thought the series was completed. I'm looking forward to finishing the issue tomorrow at work; the interview with The Royal Tenenbaum's Kumar Pallana should make the long, agonizing days go faster.

Work is fine, I've just been there a lot. Actually only worked one extra shift, but when you only get one free day between work and school, one extra work day can be draining.

I see Bush and Co. are ready to move in earnest against Iran. Ever since the whole "axis of evil" speech, I've been very confused. Of course, one issue is, is it such a good idea to label a country "evil" and expect it to continue to honor peace treaties with you? Even my sister, pro-Iraq war (and who believes the faking of the Gulf of Tonkin incident was a brilliant tactical move) views that speech as misguided. But what I really don't get is, what ever happened to progress in Iran? I was under the impression that Iran was taking baby steps toward a secular government. I thought the current leadership was drifting slowly in a moderate direction, being of course careful not to anger the radical Islamic leaders (who I imagine will only gain in influence during the "people's uprising" the U.S. government is hoping to incite). I'm no expert in Iran, by any means, but I just don't understand if there was a shift back to extremeism in Iran, or if the change is only in the West's perceptions after September 11th.

I saw Fishbone last evening, and enjoyed myself very much. They weren't the headliner, apparently; Kings X was. But it worked out good, as I was tired and had to work this morning, so I was able to leave after Fishbone and get home at a decent hour. Fishbone still had a lot of energy in their performance, and of course any band with a theremin is instantly cool. Opened with "Party at Ground Zero," and peaked with a cover of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead." I'm not really familiar enough with their work to identify much else that they played, but it was a fun show. Before "Ma and Pa," Angelo Moore remarked something about how it looked like a lot of mas and pas got a babysitter that evening; the crowd definately skewed older than I expected. But Fishbone was sounding as fresh as ever.

I did get home in time to see some of Adult Swim, new episodes of Home Movies and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. Neither was particularly exciting, though Home Movies had its moments. I taped the rest, so I'll have to watch Sealab: 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force tonight.

My favorite...Tom the Dancing Bug's Super Fun Pak Comix. I believe a membership is required, or you can view some ads for a one-day pass...I'd have to say Tom the Dancing Bug and the K Chronicles are the whole reason I subscribe.

More trouble at the Times.

In reading the latest issue of "Pants," a newsletter dedicated to Randy Newman, I learned that the re-issue of Randy Newman's Faust, which includes an excellent demo album, has sold a whopping 486 copies in its first two months of release. I blame the marketing of it, and an indifferent press; I consider myself a rather rabid fan, and was unaware of its existence until a week or two after it was released. I highly recommend it; if you had an opportunity to see the musical performed, the demo disc will take you back; if not, you can imagine what it would have been like (since its unlikely you'll ever have a chance to see it live). I'm not a huge fan of demos (if I had it to do over, I probably wouldn't have bought Good Old Boys again), but in this situation, the demos add a lot to one's appreciation of the work.

The Onion weighs in on Jayson Blair.

Went to Viejas with my mother after school today. Took a beating, at both poker and blackjack. So it goes.

I had my last mid-term in econ today. I tried to study for it using the study guide CD-ROM last night, but it turns out the bookstore gave me the wrong disc with my book, I got the macroeconomics disc, but its the microeconomics textbook. Sad thing is, I used the CD-ROM to study for the first mid-term, and didn't notice the problem. Anyway, don't think I did particularly well, but sure I did well enough to squeak by.

I finished reading Wigfield, and must say I was disappointed. As much as I love both Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert, the book was rather boring. It keeps beating the same points over and over, and it never amounts to much. Basically, its the story of a collection of squatters, trying to create a town so they can get relocation funds when the dam which towers over them is destroyed. Or more accurately, its the story of a literary fraud, trying to document the plight of these shit-kickers in order to produce the opus on the death of small-town America he promised his editor. The town, with its wide array of strip clubs and random murders, seems to have been derived from a Daily Show sketch regarding a tax-shelter of a town, whose very existence was threatened by a mayor who wished to dissolve it. It's hard for this work of fiction to live up to the reality of that town, though.

The book is largely made up of profiles of the town's residents, telling their story in their own words. Some of these are hilarious (Burchal Sawyer, one of the three men who claims to be mayor, is a personal favorite of mine), but they all seem to fall into one of two or three types, and they get repetitive. The photos that accompany these testimonials, however, help give the characters some gravity, a white-trash charisma that is compelling; Todd Oldham's photography (with the three authors posing as all the characters) is the one aspect of the book I can recommend whole-heartedly. I think the main problem is, the book doesn't work as a book. As the photographs imply, the characters might be more compelling if the brilliant Sedaris, Colbert, and Paul Dinello were bringing them to life. In fact, their wonderful web site has sound clips of their characters, and lists a schedule for a stage version of the book, which I can only imagine will be much better than the book itself. The book has some great moments, but I can't really recommend it.

Did you see Conan yesterday? Jim Carrey and Stephen Hawking doing an act together, a sight to behold.

I'm linking to this biography of Takeshi Kitano, so I can find it tomorrow at work to read. Beats studying for Friday's econ mid-term.

I see the ads for new episodes of my favorite Adult Swim programs this Sunday. Should be exciting. Haven't seen Home Movies in awhile. I'll have to tape it, though, since I won't be home.

Here is the New York Observer's interview with Jayson Blair, as well as one with his agent.

Working at the aquarium, as opposed to the movie theatre, I've gotten the feeling that I've moved a bit further away from a customer service-oriented profession, just a bit. It's still an issue, but not as much as it was before. Then I answered the phone yesterday. Crazy, annoying woman who wanted me to tell her how we could train her to save the ocean without her going to school. She didn't like school, because she's half-Hungarian and her professors were racist, and why should you have to go to school to save the oceans? So she called a college to help her with this. And she ranted on and on. Which wouldn't have been too bad, had she not begun the conversation by informing me that she was a volunteer, did not get paid, which made her time more valuable than mine, some jackass who is paid to answer the phone. I had been in the building about thirty seconds at this point, so I just shook it off, didn't want to start my day off by chewing someone out and hanging up on them. But what the hell is wrong with people that they think saying some shit like that will make anyone want to help them? I expect that attitude from the rich La Jollans I served at the movie theatre, but why would an unemployed, uneducated person think such claims are going to be received as anything other than evidence that this person is a complete waste of space? Anyway, it really pissed me off, to an extent I don't think anyone really had at the aquarium before.

I won tickets to see Fishbone Sunday. I didn't even know Fishbone still was around. Should be interesting. They're apparently playing with some metal groups, which seems somewhat an odd combination.

I missed the final episode of Dawson's Creek. Jen dies, apparently. I would have liked to see that.

Jason Blair speaks out. The article this refers to is on the New York Observer's web site, but I couldn't get through to it. I'm also glad to hear he's pursuing book deals, it sounds like he can tell his story with a lot more spine than Stephen Glass.

The Prelinger Archives feature some interesting "ephemeral" films, like the Coronet educational videos. Fun stuff.

A rather odd exercise in karaoke.

I appologize for my silence over the week, had trouble motivating myself to do much of anything. I missed work on Thursday and school Friday, a bit under the weather. I did manage to get out and do stuff on Saturday, went kayaking in the bay. I'm feeling a bit more energetic today, hopefully I'll get a nice run in after work, and be my old energetic self for the rest of the school year.

I got invited to Spago's of Beverly Hills by a Vegas casino. I'm a little unclear what it is, a cocktail party, apparently. But I don't understand if I'll just be mingling, or if there is some sort of presentation, or what. It'll be interesting to see, though, and it'll be a blast to go to Spago's and feel like an A-list person. I think I'm going alone, a few people have expressed interest in being my guest, but I figure it'll be easier to pretend I belong their alone, than with some low-class friend of mine. Of course, a designated driver would be nice. But I'm more interested in the food than the drinks, anyway. And building up a relationship with my casino host...I'd rather not divulge the casino sponsoring the event, but it is a very, very nice casino I have stayed at twice, really enjoying my stay both times. I'll be sure to recommend it here on another occasion.

I purchased my tickets to see Weird Al Yankovich at the Fair. I went ahead and got the dinner package, since once you pay for parking and fair admission, its not that much more to get a nice meal and the best seats (second row, slightly off-center). I don't know how excited I should really be to see Weird Al, but I've heard from many people he puts on quite a show. And being friends with an ex-girlfriend of the man (as featured on VH-1's "Driven"), I would feel wrong not catching the kick-off show of his new tour (and seeing him perform the Eminem song he has been prohibited from making a video for).

I enjoyed Neal Pollack's take on the New York Times scandal. Funny, though a bit disturbing in its accuracy.

From the New Yorker to the big screen! (I think you need to be a subscriber to access this)

NY Times reporter busted.

An amusing (if somewhat patronizing in tone) article regarding the lost art of (bad) liner notes.

So, my official time for the Dr. Seuss Race for Literacy was 36:11 (I saw 36:10 when I crossed the finish line). Works out to a 7:17 pace for the 8K course. After being unsatisfied with my performance at Carlsbad, I was happy with my performance. Not so much my time, which was decent, but with how I felt on the course, held a steady pace, and actually managed to run a negative split, which I don't think I've done in a race before. I just wanted to beat an 8-minute pace, which I did easily from the get-go. First mile in 8 minutes, which is very good considering this is a very popular event and the start was rather slow (they put up huge pace signs so the faster runners will be ahead of the walkers, and there's a huge banner in the back announcing where the walkers should be, and still there are idiots in front of me walking...one woman was walking backwards, no doubt looking for her friends who knew how to read...I mean, its the race for literacy, what sort of example are you setting? but I digress...). I was probably about a 7:40 pace most of the way, and once I got off the 163 into downtown and knew I was near the end, I kicked it up a notch, running the last mile at about 6:00 pace. There were bands playing along the route in downtown, which helped. The bluegrass group, in particular, gave me some nice motivation. Wish I knew their name. Anyway, if I had any disappointment, its that I felt good enough at the end that I know I could've shaved at least a minute off that time, easily. But I'm happy with how it went, and now I'm ready to prepare for a strong showing at my next 5K, at the end of the month. And I'm happy that I helped the Council on Literacy. I picked up info while there on volunteering, I've been thinking about doing that for some time; perhaps this Summer I'll make some time. Dyslexia runs in the family (it practically gaollps), so it would be a nice gesture in return for my fortune in being relatively unscathed by it.

I watched the first two episodes of The Singing Detective on Saturday. I'll comment more on it once I've watched the whole thing, but I must say I was blown away. Not what I was expecting, I thought the writer in the hospital was more a sub-plot to the film-noir murder mystery, but in fact the film, or at least the first part, is much more a psychological profile of the writer, struggling with a debilitating and humiliating skin disease, with the mystery story and Tin Pan Alley songs being utilized bizzarly but effectively. A scene in the first episode, when Marlowe opens up to his doctors in a profoundly moving act of honesty and vulnerability, to be met with a rendition of "Dem Bones," is powerfully stunning. I don't know when I'll be able to make enough time to see it all (let alone listen to the audio commentary and watch the accompanying documentary), but I'll post more comments once I have. Suffice it to say, I highly recommend it.

Speaking out on the Dixie Chicks.

An Open Letter To Those Of You Who Blew Off My Arbor Day Party.

Forgive my neglect of this forum; I'll try to post more frequently in the future. Not a whole lot to share, though. I've been listening to the soundtrack album for A Mighty Wind. It's good, but some of the songs, especially those of the New Main Street Singers, are a bit painful. It is interesting, though, that many of the songs on the CD are much more blatantly humorous than those included in the film. I think Christopher Guest et al should be commended for selecting the more subtle songs they included in the movie, and again going against the notion that they need to constantly remind the audience of the joke. The CD isn't perfect, but to finally have a copy of "Blood on the Coal" to call my own is a small dream come true.

In other CD comments, I'm currently listening to Ry Cooder's Paradise and Lunch, and would recommend it highly. In preperation for Lyle Lovett's upcoming show, The Road to Ensenada has been getting a lot of play in my car's stereo. When I first heard it, I thought Ensenada was a sub-par album, I thought it was too full of throw-away novelty songs, but there is a lot more depth to it than I first acknowledged.

Of course, now that I got my tickets to Randy Newman, I should finally listen to the bonus disc in the re-release of Randy Newman's Faust. I'm going up to my sister's in San Jose, and seeing him while I'm there. I'm planning on making a week of it, but I haven't decided what I'll be doing after the concert. Yosemite was my first thought, but in August, it might be a bit too crowded. I was thinking of going to San Francisco or Santa Cruz, where I know people, but I wanted to do something outdoorsy, camping and hiking. Whatever I come up with, though, it should be fun; it will be nice to have a non-Vegas vacation.

School is going well. Got 100% on my econ mid-term. I think my lit midterm went well; maybe I'll find out Monday. Work is uneventful. They hired a parking attendant, which should make parking more bearable for us as a business. I'm concerned my days of free parking may be numbered, if they change the way they deal with member permits. But that's okay. I'm beginning to get back into the swing of things with my running; tomorrow is the Dr. Seuss Race for Literacy, it should be a good indication of how I'm doing. As long as I can complete the 8K course, I'll be happy. I figure my goal is simply to beat my 45 minute time from my last 10K, that should be eminently doable.

I'm thinking back on the last week, and there really wasn't much worth mentioning here. I'll try to post more regularly, before I forget what I've been up to. Tonight, I'm just staying in, taking it easy before tomorrow's race. My plan is to either read, or watch The Singing Detective, which I recently received after pre-ordering months ago.

In keeping with the Beat Takeshi theme, I watched A Scene at the Sea last night. It was an interesting film, but I did not care for it as much as his other films, probably because he was not in it. His stone-faced expressions seem to make the slow, languid pace more bearable. Kuroudo Maki, who stars in this film as the deaf garbageman who becomes a surfer, is good, but remains too far removed. Which is intentional, Kitano makes every effort to remind the viewers, by means of distant camera placement and very little dialogue, that they are outsiders looking in on a world which will remain foreign to them. It was a beautiful film at times, and the quietness was refreshing, to a degree. But the ending, which should not be a huge surprise in light of his other films, left an emptiness that works in most Kitano films, but did not seem to suit this story. It's an interesting film, but I don't know that I'd recommend it.

I have to go running after work today. I've really had a tough time finding time and energy to run and exercise. The Dr. Seuss Race for Literacy is next Sunday, and knowing how I did in Carlsbad, I'm not sure if I can really turn in a respectable time at an 8K distance, unless I get back to running, now. I did get in two nice runs last week, but with everything going on, its been too easy to skip a few here and there, and once you start skipping, its hard to stop. But today I feel good, I should get a nice run in, no problem.

Christopher Hitchens Forcibly Removed From Trailer Park After Drunken Confrontation With Common-Law Wife.

Harsh Light of Morning Falls On One-Night-Stand's DVD Collection.

Seeing Beat Takeshi being exploited on TNN the other night made me think about Battle Royale. Columbine made it rather difficult for a film about high school students fighting to the death to find an American distributor. But I did find a DVD which would play in my DVD player (most were region 3 only, or were in the PAL format) at HKFlix.com (the link takes you to a different DVD than the one I purchased, but which I just now found, but which is also apparently completely USA-DVD player-compatible). They shipped it to me at lightening speed, and I watched it this evening. I don't know what to say. I understand the controversy, especially since it doesn't have a nice clear message to assure you the film is not mere exploitation (the film's message, according to the film itself? "Run!"). It was entertaining to watch, even as it was unsettling. The film is basically a Lord of the Flies-inspired look at what happens when hormone-ravaged youngsters are given access to weapons of mass destruction and urged to kill each other. My DVD had very sub-standard subtitles (which is why I linked to the "Special Edition," though I do not know if its subtitles are any better), so I imagine I missed some subtle nuances, but I found the film both unsettling and thought-provoking.

Perhaps Battle Royale's theme of the loss of innocence would appeal to the White Stripes, and so I now have a segue into mentioning that apparenlty the White Stripes were on Conan all week. I'm watching it tonight, and saw a rerun on Comedy Central, where they covered "Jolene," but missed most of it. Serves me right for going to bed after the late-night syndicated episode of King of the Hill.

Grandma's funeral went well. There was some concern about how Uncle Bob would behave, especially considering some of his bizarre behavior before-hand. On Wednesday, he called to say that someone had called him, and claimed that he was giving singing lessons to Grandma twice a week, and wanted to conduct the service. Then Bob said he said that was fine. So Mom tells him that she's already planned the service, and that the Reverend from her church will conduct the service, and that Grandma was not taking singing lessons. So Bob volunteers to call the guy back and tell him to go to hell, but Mom says no, she'll call him. Bob warns her to be careful, though, because he wouldn't take no for an answer and he thinks he has a gun and might very well come over and kill us all. Anyway, Mom calls this guy up, its the guy who would come to Monte Vista Lodge once or twice a month for Sunday services, and wanted to say a few words at the service, not conduct the whole thing. He mentioned how much Grandma liked singing at the service, but nothing about singing lessons or anything. And he did not appear to be armed when I saw him. It puts Bob's claims about disgruntled teachers out to kill him in their proper perspective.

So with concerns about Bob's sanity, we were a bit nervous about the funeral. But there were no problems, and the focus was on Grandma, where it belonged. Simple service, but nice, and a few people spoke, and it was a decent enough way to mark the passing. It was a bit tough, I think funerals tend not to get easier, but rather magnify upon themselves. But hopefully this will be the last funeral for awhile. Michelle got butterflies to release after the service, because Grandma always liked butterflies. It was a nice effect. I'll miss her.

Bob was well-behaved, as I mentioned. The family was all there, except Trent couldn't make it. But Morgan did, which is nice. I like the cousins, though I rarely see them. We exchanged e-mail addresses, but I doubt we'll keep in touch, aside from a card around the holidays maybe. I know Mom would be perfectly happy never to see Bob again. Once the estate is settled up, there's no reason why we should, really; if he couldn't keep in touch with his own mother, why us? The cousins might keep in touch a bit better, though; Trent especially was good about visiting Grandma if he was in the area, at least.

I saw A Mighty Wind this evening, and enjoyed it very much. I don't think I enjoyed it as much as Guffman, Spinal Tap, and Best in Show, but I still highly recommend it. It is different from the other films in that, while I think there is some degree of sympathy in all of those films, A Mighty Wind really seems to not only have sympathy for its subjects, but respect. The songs are carefully crafted, and are more pastiche than parody. Unfortunately, since the songs don't carry the humor of the film, I think they were neglected a bit. The film could have had more music; it should have been longer and shown much more of the final climactic concert. But its still a great film, with lots of little touches and little moments. I think they are really catering more to their fans, with little things you might miss the first time through (I'm going again), and foregoing some of the bigger laughs. Eugene Levy shines as always, in a role very different from anything I've ever seen him do. Catherine O'Hara is a great singer, it turns out. Fred Willard's broad comedy helps give the film some belly-laughs. Jennifer Coolidge, in a very small role, has some of the most memorable moments; for the benefit of those who have not yet seen it, I'll just say, when she says, "Thank God for model trains," brace yourself for what follows. When I saw the Folksmen in Los Angeles, at the Harry Smith Project, I remember being upset that Elvis Costello chose to perform the same song as Van Dyke Parks (a man with much greater folk credentials); I like to think they agreed with me, and incorporated that into the film. I would have liked to see more of the Folksmen, incidentally; the film is weighed heavily to the story of Mitch and Mickey. Which is fine, but not when it means that the Folksmen don't even get to perform "Blood on the Coal" (thank God it's on the soundtrack album, which I will be ordering on-line tonight). Great film.

I am watching Takeshi's Castle, a Japanese game show hosted by Beat Takeshi. Except in America, it is called Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, Takeshi is adressed as Vic, and a completely fictitious and offensive translation of the dialogue is offered under the guise of wit. It would really depress me, to watch this, but then this woman fell and slammed her face against a log, and I had to smile. I wish it was being broadcast in a more responsible manner, so I could get Takeshi's take on reality television. But its on the National Network, what do you want? I don't recommend it, but I imagine you Kitano fans would like to know it exists. And keep hoping for an American distribution of Dolls.

It doesn't look like its been updated since Febuary, but maybe you'll find weekly poker updates here.

"If we can hit that bulls-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate." --Zap Brannigan, Futurama